Everyone loves winning their fantasy football league. However, the thing that makes dynasty leagues more fun than redraft leagues is the offseason. Between NFL free agency and the NFL Draft, fantasy teams could have their outlook drastically change overnight.
While free agency plays a significant role, the NFL Draft is the most important event in the offseason for dynasty fantasy football players. Fantasy teams could find themselves in an excellent or awful position, depending on what happens during the draft.
Furthermore, how you prepare for their rookie drafts can make or break your team for the next several years. You don’t want to “wing it” or assume anything, so here are five helpful tips to help you ace your 2023 rookie drafts.
- Dynasty Trade Value Chart
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Derek Brown’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Sleepers
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Pick Trade Strategy & Advice
- Latest Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft
How to Prepare for Your Rookie Draft – April Edition (2023 Fantasy Football)
Know Your League’s Draft Rules
First and foremost, you need to know how the rookie draft works. If you don’t know the rules, check the league’s settings or ask the commissioner. It seems obvious, but every year there is at least one person in every league unaware of some rule. Don’t be that guy and give your league mates an advantage.
Make sure you’re aware of the timer. Is it a slow or fast draft? Most leagues are slow drafts with an eight-hour or longer clock for each pick. However, that’s not the case in all leagues. Also, make sure the picks are linear and not a snake. Rookie drafts should never be linear. Sometimes there will be a reversal after the third round, but that’s typically for startup drafts.
Do you know how many rounds are in your rookie draft? Most rookie drafts are four or five rounds. However, depending on the league size and roster construction, your draft could be as little as three rounds or up to 12. If your league has individual defensive players (IDP), your rookie draft will likely be six or more rounds. More importantly, make sure you can trade during the draft. The best time to make trades is during the rookie draft, as it gives you a chance to improve your roster in multiple ways.
Evaluate Your Team & Draft Capital
What kind of team do you have? Is it a contender or a rebuilding project? Hopefully, it’s not a team barely good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to win the championship. But, more importantly, what kind of draft capital do you have?
Contending teams with an early draft pick will want to consider trading away the selection for a win-now veteran. The rookie might take a year or so to make an impact. They could also be a complete bust and off your roster in three years. Instead, consider trading a top draft pick for a young veteran with some experience and production in the NFL.
Meanwhile, rebuilding teams should acquire as much draft capital as possible, even if you need to trade away veterans with something left in the tank. Unless the veterans have several high-end production years left in their careers, it’s time to trade them away. Remember the New England Patriots mindset. It’s better to trade away a player a year early than a year too late.
Do Your Homework
You don’t take the most important test of your life without studying. That also applies to your rookie drafts. Ideally, you would have the time to watch every game in every prospect’s college career. Yet, no one has that much time, especially when they aren’t getting paid to scout prospects. However, the more you can watch, the better.
Your own opinion on the prospects is the most important. While it’s ideal to do your own research, don’t just watch short highlight reels on YouTube. You need to see the good and bad moments with these players. If you only see the highlight plays, you won’t have a solid opinion of the prospect. Furthermore, don’t limit yourself to the top guys in the draft class. The players who will get drafted in the later rounds of your rookie draft could become league winners.
If you don’t have the time to watch the prospects yourself or only get to watch the top few players, find a group of experts you trust. However, don’t only pick fantasy football experts. You want a combination of fantasy football, NFL Draft, and college football experts. That way, you can get opinions from three different types of sources. The more opinions you can get, the better, but remember, no one is perfect. Even the best of the best will be wrong roughly half the time.
Explore the Trade Market
Trading during the rookie draft is always fun. Yet, trading before the draft starts is one of the best times to make a deal. Many fantasy players overvalue draft picks and undervalue veterans the closer we get to the NFL Draft. Contending teams should take advantage of their mindset and make trades to add players to help them win this upcoming season.
Even contending teams should have some draft picks every year. While you want to trade picks away to help you win now, having middle or later-round selections to take dart throw shots on players is critical. For example, had you spent a mid-round selection on Tyler Allgeier last year, that could have been the difference between winning the championship or coming in third place.
It’s never too early to start trade negotiations. Have trade talks about moving up or down during the draft and about potential blockbuster deals. The months and weeks leading up to the draft are an ideal time to make trades.
Prepare for the Rookie Draft
Practice makes perfect, right? The best way to prepare for your rookie draft is to do mock drafts. However, don’t just use a simulator. Instead, do it the old fashion way with pen and paper. Look at the teams picking ahead of you in the draft and determine their needs. Work your way through every potential scenario for the draft. If the team picking at 1.01 selects Bijan Robinson and the team picking at 1.02 takes Bryce Young, what will you do with the 1.03 pick? What will you do if Young and C.J. Stroud are the first two picks: do you take Robinson or the next quarterback in your rankings?
Your league mates are unlikely to tell you which players they plan on drafting or what trade talks they have had with other teams. However, you ideally want to have conversations with every other team in your league. You can get an idea of what positions they are targeting or what type of trades they are trying to put together. Furthermore, having trade talks with your league mates is an excellent way to get the ball moving on draft-day deals and moves centered around future rookie draft picks.
It is human nature to get excited about the here and now. Therefore, the best time to acquire future rookie picks is during the draft. If you offer your 2.01 pick to a team for their 2024 first-round pick today, it will likely get rejected. However, that offer might get accepted during the rookie draft when your league mate is desperate to trade up for a particular prospect. It’s also a good time to trade for veterans for the same reason. The rookie draft is about adding youth to your roster. However, don’t be shortsighted; consider all options before you pick.
My Favorite Rookies to Target
With the 2023 NFL Draft a few weeks away, I wanted to share which rookies I’m targeting in every round. Of course, things could change once the NFL Draft is completed, but here is an early look at the “my guys” list.
ADP provided by Faceoff Sports Network.
Round 1:
Robinson is a superstar and the consensus No. 1 pick in 1QB and Superflex leagues. Meanwhile, Smith-Njigba has reasserted himself as the top wide receiver in the draft class after injuries held him to only three games last year. Both players are excellent prospects. Furthermore, they are the two guys I want to draft if I have an early pick and don’t need a quarterback.
Round 2:
While Smith-Njigba is the clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver this year, Flowers has a case to be the second drafted. The former Boston College star led the ACC with 12 receiving touchdowns last year. Furthermore, his route running and toughness will help him succeed early in his NFL career. Meanwhile, Hooker has gained draft hype over the past few weeks and will likely be a first-round NFL Draft pick. He was efficient in college, throwing 58 touchdowns compared to only five interceptions over the past two years. Depending on how high he goes, the former Tennessee star could be a late first-round pick in rookie drafts in Superflex leagues.
Round 3:
Unfortunately, a back injury has kept Kincaid from participating in the pre-draft process. The former Utah star put up impressive numbers the past two years, totaling eight receiving touchdowns each season. Furthermore, he had 70 receptions for 890 receiving yards last year, both career highs. His route running and football IQ will help him make an impact early in his rookie season. Meanwhile, Johnson didn’t get much of an opportunity at Texas. Yet, the former Longhorn has NFL talent. He averaged nearly six yards per rushing attempt over the past two years. Johnson’s draft stock is rising, and he could be a second-round pick later this month.
Round 4:
Every year fantasy players try to find the late-round gem at running back. This year that guy is Hull. The former Northwestern star has had an impressive pre-draft process and could be a Day 2 selection. More importantly, he had 55 receptions in 2022, the second-most on the team. Meanwhile, LaPorta is my favorite late-round tight end target. The three potential first-rounders have gotten most of the attention, but the tight end class is deep this year. LaPorta had 111 receptions for 1,327 receiving yards over the past two years despite playing on a struggling Iowa offense. Imagine what he can do once he is part of an NFL-level passing attack.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
